Water sports toys



Feb. 1, 1966 e. VLACANCICH WATER SPORTS TOYS Filed Feb. 5, 1964 INVENTOR.

FIG. 4

GIOVANNI VLACANCICH A TTORNEY United States Patent Office 3,232,503 Patented Feb. 1, 1966 3,232,608 WATER SPORTS TOYS Giovanni Vlacancieh, 24-29 43st St., Astoria, N.Y. File-d Feb. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 342,644 3 Claims. (Cl. 272--1) This invention relates to floating toys capable of being ridden to provide sport and amusement in the water.

A primary object of the invention is the provision of certain new and useful improvements in such toys to enhance their attractiveness both for amusement and physical exercise.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a floating toy which is adapted to be ridden by a person and which is provided with a flipper or fin of the type used in so-called skin diving, whereby the toy may be propelled by applying a rocking motion thereto by the rider.

The above as well as additional objects will be clarified in the following description wherein reference numerals indicate like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended primarily for the purpose of illustration and that it is therefore neither desired nor intended to limit the invention necessarily to any or all of the exact details shown or described.

Referring briefly to the drawing, FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away and partly in section, of one form of a floating toy embodying features of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view, partly broken away and partly in section, of a modified form of the toy.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the same.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 16) indicates a hollow animal figure, and more particularly the figure of a sea bird, which is made of any suitable light weight material such as, for example, a suitable plastic like polystyrene. The figure It) is preferably made of one piece or of complementary sections, not shown, cemented together. The figure or body includes a single leg 11, and it preferably has a seat or saddle 12 molded on its back. Suitably positioned on opposite sides of the neck are handle bars 13, but one of which is shown in FIG. 1, and also suitably positioned low and forward on the body are foot rests 14.

At 15 is shown a fin or flipper of the kind such as is worn on the feet by an underwater swimmer or skin diver. Such flippers have the general shape shown, being made of rubber or a suitable plastic, flexible material. The flipper has two divergent thickened or ribbed longi tudinal edges 16 between which a flexible sheet 17 extends. At its forward end 18 the flipper is thickened and more rigid, and this end is secured to the bottom of the leg 11 by any suitable means or in any suitable manner; for example, by being cemented to the leg, so that the flipper extends rearward aproximately horizontal.

With a swimmer seated on the floating figure 1%, substantially as shown in the two broken-line positions in FIG. 1, and rocking the figure back and forth in substantially a vertical plane, it is obvious that the flipper will function to propel the figure forward. The flipper during such rocking bends approximately as indicated in broken lines.

In the modified form shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body is represented by a slab 19 which may be made of any suitable material, including wood. At its rear end the flipper 15a has its forward end 18a secured, also in any desired manner, in a notch or cut-out 20 in the slab. Extending from opposite sides of the slab at a suitable longitudinal position for proper normal balancing of the device, are rods 21 having mounted on the ends thereof substantially or approximately pneumatic tire-shaped inflated floats 22. At its forward end the slab has a head 23 in the form of an enlargement of the said end. Near the head 23 are opposed handle bars 24.

In using this modified form, a person lies prone on the slab with his body or torso on the slab and his hands grasping the bars 24. Again, a motion by he user to rock the device in a vertical plane, in an obvious manner, will cause the flipper 15a to propel the device forward. It is to be noted that owing to the tire-like shape of the floats 22 lying in the water in substantially vertical planes, they offer a minimum resistance to the water during such rocking motion as the entire device will tend to pivot on the common axis of the two floats. Similarly and for the same reasons, the floats will otter a minimum resistance to the forward motion of tr e device. The thickness of the floats 22 as well as their diameter is of course a matter of design to insure that they will support the user.

Thus a novel propellable water sport toy has been provided in combination with the well known flipper, to enable the user to propel himself while afloat, with a minimum of effort.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to the structure illustrated in the drawing such is not to be construed as a limitation upon the invention which is best defined in the accompanying claims.

It is to be noted that, particularly in the case of the modification shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the feet of the rider will probably also be brought into play in balancing the device in, for example, shifting his weight forward or rearward. Moreover, the rider may be seated on the slab rearward of the rods 21 with his body bent forward so that he may grasp the handles. In both forms of the device the shifting of his body by the rider will overcome the tendency of the device to pitch too far in a forward or rearward direction. Also, rivets or screws 25, FIGS. 3 and 4, may be the means of securement of the flipper to the body. 7

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A water sport toy adapted to be propelled by a rider thereon including float means substantially rounded at least in the underwater portion thereof about an axis transverse to the direction of travel of the toy for keeping the toy afloat whereby said axis provides an axis about which the toy is rocked by the rider, the toy having a flipper of flexible material extending substantially horizontally rearwardly therefrom and having hand grip means on the forward portion thereof, the flipper having thickened substantially straight side edges diverging in a rearward direction, and having a substantially inflexible forward extremity'iigidly and immovably attached to the toy.

2. A toy according to claim 1, said toy having the form of a living creature and including a depending rigid leg, the flipper extending rearward from the lower extremity of said leg.

3. A toy according to claim 1, said toy comprising an elongated slab having a front end and a rear end, a pair of aligned rods of equal length extending from opposite sides of the body and positioned between said ends of the slab, and said float means comprising a tire-shaped in flated float mounted on the outer end of each of the rods at right angles to the rods.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,854,787 10/1958 Oberg 46-92 2,997,299 8/ 1961 Wilkins 272-1 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner. FREDERIC B. LEONARD, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WATER SPORT TOY ADAPTED TO BE PROPELLED BY RIDER THEREON INCLUDING FLOAT MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY ROUNDED AT LEAST IN THE UNDERWATER PORTION THEREOF ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE TOY FOR KEEPING THE TOY AFLOAT WHEREBY SAID AXIS PROVIDES AN AXIS ABOUT WHICH THE TOY IS ROCKED BY THE RIDER, THE TOY HAVING A FLIPPER OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY REARWARDLY THEREFROM AND HAVING HAND GRIP MEANS OF THE FORWARD PORTION THEREOF, THE FLIPPER HAVING THICKENED SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT SIDE EDGES DIVERGING IN A REARWARD DIRECTION AND HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY INFLEXIBLE FORWARD EXTREMITY RIGIDLY AND IMMOVABLY ATTACHED TO THE TOY. 